Q Ask Tea:
Can I take medication with tea water?
A Answer:
Whether you can take medication with tea water cannot be generalized. In most cases, it is not recommended to take medication with tea water.
For Western medicines, such as some iron-containing drugs (e.g., ferrous sulfate, ferrous carbonate, etc.) and aluminum-containing drugs (e.g., aluminum hydroxide, etc.), these may form combined precipitates with polyphenols in tea, affecting the efficacy of the drug.
For Chinese herbal medicines, such as ephedra, coptis, and others, it is generally not advisable to mix them with tea water for consumption.
However, when taking vitamin supplements, diuretics, lipid-lowering, or Blood Sugar-lowering drugs, tea water can generally be used. For example, after taking vitamin C and then Drinking Tea, the catechins in tea can help with the absorption and accumulation of vitamin C in the body; since tea itself has diuretic, lipid-lowering, and blood sugar-lowering effects, it can have a synergistic effect when taking such medications.
Additionally, some people are intolerant to the caffeine in tea, which has an excitatory effect. When taking sedatives, hypnotics, or cough suppressants, it is also not advisable to use tea water to take these medications, to avoid conflicting effects and reduced efficacy.
Generally, it is believed that one should not drink tea within two hours of taking medication.